Apparatus for packaging strand material



J. H. HEALY 3,043,530

APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING STRAND. MATERIAL July 10, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed May 6', 1958 I' l| J 10 INYENTOR.

JAMES H. HEAL) "W KM July 10, 1962 J. H. HEALY APPARATUS FOR PACKAGINGSTRAND MATERIAL Filed May 6, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4. I 1 2 6 a 5K 4 6 &1 y fivdny /j W M 4 2 I H 2 5 6 7 5 5/;

H 6 6 w w w 4 7 I. fl Q 5 3 y A 4 6 H INVENTOR. JAMES H HEAL) ATTORNEYSUnite States Patent Office attests Patented July 10, 1962 APPARATUS FGRPACKAGING S MATERIAL New York Filed May 6, 1958, Ser. No. 733,409 14Claims. (Cl. 242-431) This invention relates to an apparatus forpackaging strand material and more particularly to a travers ngmechanism for winding strand material on a rotatmg support.

In a fiber forming process, such as the forming of glass fibers, thefibers are drawn from molten materia contained in a bushing, gatheredtogether in strand form and then wound on a high speed rotating drum orsupport. The strand is usually wound on the drum in a helical pattern sothat the strand will cross over itself at large angles and minimize thetendency of'entanglement.

If the strand is traversed or reciprocated along the high speed drumwith a constant stroke or length of travel to form the helical patternof winding, an excessive build-up in thickness of the wound strand willoccur at the end points of the stroke of travel of the traverse. Thisbuild-up or enlargement in thickness of the wound strand at the ends ofthe wound package, will result in abrasion of the strand as it isunwound from the package for subsequent use. The abrasion can causefracture of fibers in the strand and thereby substantially reduce thephysical properties of the strand.

The present invention is directed to an improved apparatus for windingstrand material on a rotating drum in which the wound package has asubstantial uniform thickness and enlargements in thickness at the endsof the package are eliminated. According to the invention, the length orstroke of traverse of the strand is progressively increased during thewinding operation, so that the build-up of the strand at the ends ofeach stroke of the traversing mechanism is moved progressively outwardlytoward the ends of the drum with the result that the wound package has asubstantially uniform thickness.

More specifically, the strand-being wound on the retating drum iscontacted by a rotating, conical spiralshaped traversing mechanism whichmoves or reciprocates the strand back and forth along the drum with agiven length of stroke to provide the helical winding pattern. Duringthe winding operation, the rotating traversing mechanism is moved towardthe strand along an arc of a circle having its center coinciding withthe axis of the drum. As the traversing mechanism is moved along thisarc, the length of the stroke of reciprocation of the strand isprogressively increased so that the buildup in thickness of the woundstrand at the ends of each stroke is moved progressively outwardly alongthe drum. This movement will in effect prevent any substantial build-upin thickness throughout the length of the wound package.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the course of the followingdescription.

The drawings illustrate the best mode presently contemplated of carryingout the invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic front elevation of the apparatus of theinvention;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the apparatus of FIGURE 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary section of the drum showing the clipattachment of the sleeve to the drum core;

FIG. 4 is a rear elevation of the apparatus of FIG- URE l and showingthe drum brake mechanism;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the pivotable frame andshowing the location of the limit switches;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation, with partsbroken away in section, of thescrew drive for the frame; and

FIG. 7 is a wiring diagram of the electrical circuit.

The drawings illustrate an apparatus for packaging strand materialcomprising a metallic bushing 1 which is adapted to contain a moltenmass of material, such as glass or the like. The glass in the form ofbeads or marbles is introduced into the bushing 1 through openings inthe upper end of the bushing and an electrical current is applied to thebushing through terminals 2 to heat the glass and melt the same. Themolten glass is drawn from a plurality of orifices in the lower surfaceof the bushing in the form of individual fibers 3 which are collectedtogether as a strand 4 by means of guide member 5. Suitable lubricatingand sizing materials may be supplied to the guide member 5 and thuscoated on the individual fibers.

The fiber strand is adapted to be wound on a rotating support, such asdrum 6 and the strand is contacted by a traversing mechanism, indicatedgenerally by 7, which traverses or reciprocates the strand along thesurface of the drum and winds the strand in a generally helical patternon the drum surface.

The drum is supported for rotatio on a shaft 8 which is journaled Withina suitable bearing housed in bearing housing 9. The bearing housing 9 isecured to a base 10 or foundation by bolts 11.

To facilitate removal of the wound package from the drum, an outersleeve 12 is removably secured around the periphery of the drum 6 by aseries of spring clips 13 which are secured within grooves 14 formed inthe outer surface of the drum. The clips 13 extend outwardly beyond thesurface of the drum and serve to resiliently engage the inner surface ofsleeve 12 and bias the sleeve in place during the winding operation.

The drum 6 is rotated by means of a motor 15 which is secured to thebase 14 The drive shaft 16 of motor .15 carries a pulley 17 which isconnected to pulley 18 on shaft 8 by belts 19. With this arrangement,rotation of the. drive shaft 16 serves to rotate shaft 8 and the drum 6to thereby wind the strand on the surface of the drum sleeve 12.

The rotation of the drum 6 is controlled by a brake mechanism, indicatedgenerally by 20. The brake mechanism is a standard type of solenoidactuated brake having pivotable jaws 21 adapted to engage the shaft 8 tocontrol the rotation of the drum 6.

The traversing mechanism 7 includes a pair of spiral, conical-shapedcomplementary cam members 22 which are secured to a horizontal shaft 23.The cam members are adapted to rotate with the shaft 23 and are locatedbetween the guide member 5 and the drum 6 in position to engage thestrand and move the strand back and forth along the surface of the drumto wind the strand in a generally helical pattern on the drum sleeve 12.Each of the cam members extends through slightly more than of aconvolution and the small diameter end 24 of each cam member 22terminates inside of the 3 The cam members 22, themselves, have a lengthslightly less than the length of the drum 6 so that the length of thewound package will be slightly less than the length of the drum.

To support the cam members 22 for rotation, the shaft 23 is journaledwithin bearings 26 housed in brackets 27 which are attached to the upperportion-of a pivotable frame 28. The frame 28'includes a pair of spacedarms 29 journaled on the shaft 3, and connected by an upper plate 34which supports the bearing brackets 27.

The cam members 22 are rotated by motor 15 acting through shaft 8. Apulley 31 is attached to shaft 8 and is connected to a pulley 32 onshaft 23 by means of a belt 33. With this arrangement, the rotation ofthe motor 15 not only serves to rotate the drum 6 but also rotates thetraversing mechanism 7. The rotation of the drum serves to wind thefiber strand on the outer surface of drum sleeve 12 and the rotation ofthe traversing mechanism serves to successively engage the cam memberswith the strand to thereby reciprocate the strand along the surface ofsleeve 1-2 and wind the strand in a helical pattern on the sleeve.

During the traverse or reciprocation of the strand along the drum 6, abuild-up in thickness of the wound strand will occur at the end pointsof the stroke of travel of the traverse. This build-up results from thespeed of traverse of the strand being decreased toward the ends of thestroke due to the fact that the strand must reverse its direction oftravel. This build-up or enlargement in thickness of the wound strandat' the-ends of the stroke will continue and, if the winding pattern hasa traverse of constant length, the completed wound package will have asubstantial enlargement at the ends. This enlargement in the woundpackage will cause serious problems when the strandis'unwound from thesleeve for subsequent use, for the strand, when unwound, will rub orabrade across the enlargements and thereby tend to fracture some of thefibers in the strand. This will seriously impair the physical propertiesof the strand.

To prevent the enlargement or build-up of the strand at the ends of thewound package, the length or stroke of traverse of the strand isprogressively varied during the winding operation so that the build-upof the strand at the ends of each stroke is moved progressively alongthe drum with the result that the wound package has a substantiallyuniform thickness without any enlargements. This is accomplished byprogressively pivoting the frame 28 about the shaft 8 to move thetraversing mechanism along an arc of a circle having its centercoinciding generally with the axis of the drum 6.

To pivot the frame 28, one end of a screw 34- is pivotally connected bya pin 35 between the arms 2-9of frame 28 and a sleeve 36 is threadedlyengaged with the other end of screw 34. The sleeve 36 is secured to theoutput shaft 37 of transmission v38 by a pin 39' and a motor 40 isconnected by a flexible shaft 41 to the input shaft of transmission 38.With this arrangement, rotation of the output shaft 37 of thetransmission 38 serves to extend or retract the screw 34 with respect tothe sleeve 36 and thereby pivot theframe 28 about the shaft 8.

As best shown inFIGURE 1, pivoting the frame in a counterclockwisedirection toward the fiber strand will result in the length of stroke oftraverse being increased, while movement of the frame 28 in acounterclockwise direction in FIGURE 1 will result in a decreased strokeof traverse of the strand on the drum 6.

The pivotal movement of frame 28 is controlled by a series of switcheswhich are sequentially actuated. In operation of the apparatus, theframe 28 is initially pivoted clockwise, as shown in FIG. 5, to permitthe strand to be attached to the drumv sleeve 12 without interferencefrom the traversing mechanism. At this time, the edge of one of the arms29 is in engagement with the roller '43 of a limit switch 44. Thelirnitswitch 44 is secured 4 1 to the upper end of a bracket 45 which issupported on base 10.

After the drum reaches operating speed and the strand is attachedthereto, the frame 28 is then pivoted counterclockwise at a high rate ofspeed to bring the cam members 22 into engagement with the strand 4.This pivotal movement of frame 28 results in the roller 47 of limitswitch 48 being engaged by bar 49 secured to arm 29, and

.relay 591.

the pivotal movement of the frame 28 isthen slowed so that the framewill move very slowly in a counterclockwise direction toward the strandto progressively increase the length of -stroke of reciprocation of thestrand.

At the end of the winding operation, the opposite edge of arm 29contacts a roller 5!! of limit switch 51 to stop the movement of theframe 28. The limit switch 51 is supported by a bracket 52 secured tothe base It The actuation of limit switch 51 serves to set up circuitryto return the frame to its original position.

The electrical circuit employed to control the apparatus is shown inFIG. 7.. 'In this diagram, the main power lines are indicated by 53 anda series of branch lines are connected across the main power lines andare designated by an L series of numbers, such as L1, L2, 'etc., and thecontacts actuated by -a given relay are designated by the referencenumeral of the-relay and the hyphenated number.

At the start of operation, the frame 28 is at the farthest clockwiseposition, as shown in FIG. 5, with the edge of the arm 29 in engagementwith the roller 4-3 of limit switch 44 in L10 to hold the switch open.The switch 48 in L7 is'o'pen at this time and the switch 51 in L3 isclosed.

To begin operation, the main power switch 54 is closed and the startbutton 55 in L2 is depressed to energize relays 56 in L2 and 57 in L1.Energizing relay 56 closes contacts 56-1 in L11 to actuate motor 15 andalso closes contacts 56-2 in L12 to actuate brake solenoid 58 to releasethe brake jaws 21 on the drum shaft 8. Both the traversing mechanism 7and the drum 6 are then rotated by means of the motor 15.

Energizing relay 57 closes contacts 57-1 in L1 to lock,-

closed contacts 572 in L10, closes contacts 57-3 in L3 and opens thenormally closed contact '57-4 in L14.

As the switch 51 in L3 is closed at this time, the closing of contacts57-3 in L3 energizes the timing relay 59,

and the energizing of timing relay 59 closes contacts 59-1 in L5 toenergize relay 60 in L5. Energizing relay 60 opens the normally closedcontacts 66-1 in L3 to deenergize the timing relay 59. The timing relaycontacts 59-1 are set for a given period of delay before closing topermit the drum to get up to speed before the frame 28 is moved byenergization of relay 60. The frame 28, at this time, being in thefarthest clockwise position is, in effect, out of the Way of the drumand permits the convenientattachment of the strand to the drum. Afterthe strand is attached and the drum is running at its operating speed,the frame is then pivoted counterclockwise.

The energizing of relay 60 also closes contacts 60-2 in L4 to lock inthe relay '60 after the contacts 59-1 in L5 have been opened due to thede-energizing of timing In addition, the energizing of relay 60 alsocloses contacts 60-3 in L14. Closing of contacts 69-3 serves to.energize motor 40 through L13. The starting of motor 40 pivots the frame28 toward the strand and closes Switch 44 in L10. Frame 28 is pivoted ata high rate of speed until the limit switch 43 is engaged by bar 49 toclose the switch 43.

The closing of switch 48 in L7 energizes timing relay 61 in L7 and relay62 in L8. Energizing relay 62 opens normally closed contacts 62-1 in L13and energizing timing relay 61 closes normally open contacts 61-1 inL15. The motor 40 is then energized through the closed contact 60-3,variable resistance 63 and contacts 61-1 to advance the frame 28 at alow speed determined by the resistance setting. Contacts 57-4 in L14 areopen at this time. The timing relay contacts 61-1 are set tointermittently close and thereby intermittently energize motor 40. Thiscauses the frame to move in short increments rather than with acontinuous slow movement. It is contemplated that a steady slow movementcould also be employed, if desired.

The slow pivotal movement of the frame 28 progressively increases thestroke of traverse of the strand and thereby produces a Wound package ofsubstantially uniform thickness.

At the far end of travel of frame 28, the edge of arm 29 engages roller50 of switch 51 to open switch 51 in L3 and de-energize relay 6t).De-energizing relay 60 opens contacts 60-3 in L14 to stop the motor 40.The drum motor 15 continues to operate until the manual stop 64 in L2 ispushed to de-energize relay 56.

At this time, switch 44 in L is closed and the pushing of stop button 64dc-energizes relay 57 to close contacts 57-2 in L10 and energize relay65. Energizing relay 65 closes contacts 65-1 in L9 to energize relay 66and this sets up the reversal of motor 40 to return the frame 28 to itsoriginal position. Energizing relay 66 opens the normally closedcontacts 66-1 in L13 and closes the normally open contacts 66-2. Inaddition, the normally open contacts 66-3 in L are closed and thenormally closed contacts 66-4 in L15 are open.

Energizing relay 65 also closes contact 65-2 in L6 to energize relay 60.Energizing relay 60 closes contacts 60-3 in L14. Contacts 57-4 in L14are also closed at this time so that the motor 40 is actuated throughclosed contacts 60-3, 57-4 and 66-3 and 66-2 to operate the motor in thereverse direction and return the frame 28 to its original position.

When the frame reaches its end point of travel, switch 44 is engaged toopen and de-energize relay 65. This opens contacts 65-2 and de-energizesrelay 60 to stop the traversing mechanism motor 4t De-energizing relay65 also closes contact 65-3 in L5 which serves to prevent current frombacking up through L5 to energize timing relay 59.

While the above description is directed to the stroke or length oftraverse being progressively increased, it is contemplated that thestroke could initially be of a maximum length and then decreased.Similarly, while the description is directed to glass fibers, theinvention is applicable to other mineral or synthetic fibers which aredrawn from a molten mass.

The present invention provides a simple and inexpensive apparatus forwinding a strand on a rotating support in which build-ups orenlargements in thickness in the wound package are avoided and thepackage has a substantially uniform thickness.

Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as beingwithin the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out anddistinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as theinvention.

I claim:

1. Ina winding mechanism, a rotatable support adapted to receive andwind a strand thereon, traversing means for engaging the strand andreciprocating said strand axially along the support with a given strokeof travel to thereby wind the strand on the support in a generallyhelical pattern, means for rotating said traversing means about the axisthereof, and means for moving said traversing means laterally of theaxis of said support to progressively change the length of stroke ofreciprocation of the strand so that the build-up in thickness of thewound strand at the ends of the stroke of reciprocation is progressivelymoved axially along the support during the winding operation to therebyprovide a wound package having a substantially uniform thickness.

2. In a winding mechanism, a rotatable drum adapted to receive and winda strand thereon, guide means for guiding the strand toward said drum,traversing means for engaging the strand and reciprocating said strandaxially along the drum with a given stroke of travel to thereby wind thestrand on the drum in a generally helical pattern, said traversing meansbeing located between said guide means and said drum and including aplurality of complementary cams of conical spiral shape supported forrotation on a shaft disposed substantially parallel to the axis of saiddrum, and means for moving said traversing means laterally of the. axisof said drum to progressively change the length of stroke ofreciprocation of the strand so that the build-up in thickness of thewound strand at the ends of the stroke of reciprocation is progressivelymoved axially along the drum during the winding operation to therebyprovide a wound package having a substantially uniform thickness.

3. In a winding mechanism, a rotatable drum adapted to receive and winda strand thereon, traversing means for engaging the strand andreciprocating said strand axially along the drum with a given stroke oftravel to thereby wind the stand on the drum in a generally helicalpattern, said transversing means including a plurality of complementarycams of conical spiral shape with the major diameter of one cam beingopposed to the minor diameter of adjacent cams and said cams beingsupported for rotation on a shaft disposed substantially parallel to theaxis of said drum, and means for moving said traversing means along anarc of a circle having the center thereof substantially coinciding withthe axis of said drum to progressively change the length of stroke oftravel of the strand with respect to the cams so that the build-up inthickness of the wound strand at the ends of the stroke of reciprocationis progressively moved axially along the drum during the windingoperation to thereby provide a wound package having a substantiallyuniform thickness.

4. In a winding mechanism, a rotatable support, means for rotating saidrotatable support, a cylindrical member mounted on said rotatablesupport and adapted to receive and wind a strand thereon as saidrotatable support is rotated, a frame pivotally mounted about the axisof said rotatable support and extending radially outward beyond theperiphery of said cylindrical member, a shaft rotatably supported on theouter end portion of said frame and being generally parallel andco-extensive with the axis of said rotatable support, means for rotatingsaid shaft, a traversing mechanism mounted for rotation on said shaftand disposed to engage the strand and reciprocate said strand axiallyalong the cylindrical member with a given stroke of reciprocation tothereby wind the'strand on the cylindrical member in a generally helicalpattern, and means for pivoting said frame about the axis of saidrotatable support to vary the length of stroke of reciprocation of thestrand so that the build-up in thickness of the Wound strand at the endsof the stroke of reciprocation is progressively moved axially along thecylindrical member during the winding operation to thereby provide awound package having a substantially uniform thickness.

5. In a winding mechanism, a rotatable member, means for rotating saidrotatable member, a cylindrical member mounted on said rotatable memberand adapted to receive and Wind a strand thereon as said rotatablemember is rotated, guide means for collecting and guiding the strandtoward said cylindrical member, a frame pivotally mounted about the axisof said rotatable member and extending radially outward beyond theperiphery of said cylindrical member, a shaft journalled in the outerend portion of said frame and being generally co-extensive l with saidrotatable member, means for rotating said shaft, a traversing mechanismmounted for rotation on said shaft and disposed to engage the strand andreciprocate said strand axially along the cylindrical member with agiven stroke of reciprocation to thereby wind the strand on thecylindrical member in a generally helical pattern,

said traversing means being located betweensaid guide means and saidrotatable member and including a plurality of complementary cams ofconical spiral shape with the major diameter of one cam being opposed tothe minor diameter of adjacent cams, and means for pivoting said frameabout the axis of said rotatable member to vary the length of stroke ofreciprocation of the strand with respect to the cams so that thebuild-up in thickness of the wound strand at the ends of the stroke ofreciprocation is progressively moved axially along the drum during thewinding operation to thereby provide a wound package having asubstantially uniform thickness.

6. In a winding mechanism, a rotatable drum adapted to receive and winda fibrous strand thereon, guide means for guiding the strand toward saiddrum, a traversing mechanism mounted for rotation about an axis locatedsubstantially parallel to the axis of said drum and disposed to engagesaid strand and reciprocate said strand axially along the drum with agiven stroke of reciprocation to thereby wind the strand on the drum ina generally helical pattern, driven means for rotating said drum andsaid traversing mechanism, means for withdrawing said traversingmechanism out of the plane extending from the guide means to said drumat the start of the winding operation to facilitate attachment of saidstrand to said drum, means for moving said traversing mechanism in adirection toward said plane along an arc of a circle having the centerthereof coinciding with the axis of said drum at a substantially highrate of speed after said drive means is operating at a predeterminedspeed to bring said traversing mechanism into engagement with thestrand, and means responsive to a given amount of movement of saidtraversing mechanism in said direction for reducing the speed of saidtraversing mechanism and moving said traversing mechanism in saiddirection along said are at a substantially reduced speed to therebyprogressively vary the length of stroke of reciprocation f the strand'sothat the build-up in thickness of the Wound strand at the ends of thestroke of reciprocation is progressively moved axially along the drumduring the Winding operation to thereby provide a wound package having asubstantially uniform thickness.

7. In a winding mechanism, a rotatable drum adapted to receive and winda fibrous strand thereon, guide means 7 for guiding the strand towardsaid drum, a traversing thereby wind the strand on the drum in agenerally helical pattern, drive means for rotating said drum and saidtraversing mechanism, said traversing mechanism being disposed at awithdrawn position out of the plane extending from the guide means tosaid drum at the start of the winding operation to facilitate attachmentof said strand to said drum, means responsive to said drive meansoperatingat a given speed for moving said traversing mechanism in adirection toward said plane along an arc of a circle having the centerthereof coinciding with the axis of said drum at a substantially highrate of speed to bring said traversing mechanism into engagement withthe strand, means responsive to agiven amount of movement of saidtraversing mechanism in said direction'for reducing the speed of saidtraversing mechanism and moving said traversing mechanism in saiddirection along said arc at a substantially reduced speed to therebyprogressively vary the length of stroke of reciprocation of the strandso that the build-up in thickness of the wound strand at the ends of thestroke of reciprocation is progressively moved axially along the drumduring the winding operation to thereby provide a wound package having asubstantially uniform thickness, and means for automatically returningsaid traversing mechanism to said withdrawn position after completion ofwinding of said package.

8. In a method of packaging strand material, the steps of winding thestrand on the peripheral surface of a rotating' support, engaging thestrand with a traversing mechanism to traverse the strand axially alongthe surface of said rotating support with a given stroke of traverse towind the strand on said support in a generally helical pattern, andprogressively moving the traversing mechanism along an arc of a circlehaving the center thereof coinciding generally with the axis of saidrotating support so that the build-up in thickness of the wound strandat the ends of the stroke of traverse is progressively moved axiallyalong the drum during the winding operation to thereby provide a woundpackage having a substantially uniform thickness.

9. A method of packaging strand material, comprising collecting aplurality of continuous filaments into strand form, winding the strandon the surface of a rotatable support, engaging the strand with atraversing mechanism to reciprocate the strand axially along the surfaceof said support with a given stroke of reciprocation to provide agenerally helical winding pattern, and slowly moving said traversingmechanism along an arc of a circle having the center thereof coincidingWith the axis of said support to progressively vary the length of strokeof reciprocation of the strand so that the build-up in thickness of thewound strand at the ends of the stroke of reciprocation is progressivelymoved axially along the drum during the winding operation to therebyprovide a wound package having a substantially uniform thickness.

10. A method of packaging strand material, comprising collecting aplurality of continuous filaments into strand form, winding the strandon the surface of a rotatable support, engaging the strand at a positionbetween the location of collecting the fibers and said support with atraversing mechanism pivotally mounted about the axis of said support tothereby reciprocate the strand axially along the surface of said supportwith a given stroke of reciprocation and provide a generally helicalwinding pattern, and progressively pivoting said traversing mechanismabout said axis to progressively vary the length of stroke ofreciprocation of the strand so that the build-up in thickness of theWound strand at the ends of the stroke of reciprocation is progressivelymoved axially along the drum during the winding operation to therebyprovide a wound package having a substantially uniform thickness.

11. A method of winding a fibrous strand on a rotating support by use ofa rotating traversing mechanism, comprising initially moving saidtraversing mechanism to a withdrawn position with respect to saidsupport to facilitate attachment of the strand to the rotating support,moving the traversing mechanism along an arc of a circle having thecenter thereof coinciding with the axis of said support at a high rateof speed to engage the traversing mechanism with the strand and therebyreciprocate the strand along the support and Wind the strand on the support in a helical pattern, subsequently moving said traversing mechanismalong said are after engagement with said strand at a substantiallyslower rate of speed than said first rate of speed to progressivelyincrease the stroke of reciprocation of the strand so that the build-upin thickness of the wound strand at the ends of the stroke ofreciprocation is progressively moved axially along the drum during thewinding operation to thereby provide a wound package having asubstantially uniform thickness, and returning said traversing mechanismto said withdrawn position after completion of winding of said packagein preparation for winding a second package.

12. In a winding mechanism, a rotatable member adapted to receive andwind a fibrous strand thereon, a traversing mechanism mounted forrotation about an axis located substantially parallel to the axis ofsaid rotatable member and disposed to engage the strand and traversesaid strand axially along the rotatable member to thereby wind thestrand on the rotatable member in a generally helical pattern, and meansfor moving the traversing mechanism in a direction generally normal tothe axis of the rotatable member to thereby change the length of strokeof traverse of the strand with respect to the rotatable member so thatthe buildup in thickness of the wound strand at the ends of the strokeof traverse is moved axially along the rotatable member during thewinding operation to provide a Wound package having a substantiallyuniform thickness.

13. In a method of packaging strand material, the steps of winding thestrand on the peripheral surface of a rotating support, rotating atraversing mechanism about the axis thereof, engaging the strand withthe traversing mechanism to traverse the strand axially along thesurface of said rotating support with a given stroke of traverse to windthe strand on said support in a generally helical pattern, andprogressively moving the traversing mechanism generally normally of theaxis of the rotating support while rotating said traversing mechanism tothereby vary the stroke of traverse of the strand so that the buildup inthickness of the wound strand at the ends of the stroke is progressivelymoved axially along the drum during the winding operation to provide aWound package having a substantially uniform thickness.

14. A method of packaging strand material, comprising collecting aplurality of continuous filaments into strand form, rotating atraversing mechanism about the axis thereof, engaging the 'strand withthe traversing mechanism to reciprocate the strand axially along thesurface of said support to provide a generally helical winding pattern,and moving said traversing mechanism in a direction toward the strandwhile rotating said traversing mechanism to progressively increase thelength of stroke of reciprocation of the strand so that the buildup inthickness of the stroke of reciprocation is progressively rnoved axiallyoutward along the drum during the Winding operation to provide a woundpackage having a substantially uniform thickness.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

